Sunday Series: Top Movie Sites in Oscar Season

In the wake of the Academy Awards at the end of February, I thought movie sites would have an interesting top movers list. I was surprised that the category as a whole had 9% less Unique Visitors than January--though still a sizable amount of traffic with nearly 59 million UVs. Neither Oscars or Academy Awards appeared on the top 100 list of keyword referrals.

In the wake of the Academy Awards at the end of February, I thought movie sites would have an interesting top movers list. I was surprised that the category as a whole had 9% less Unique Visitors than January–though still a sizable amount of traffic with nearly 59 million UVs. Neither Oscars or Academy Awards appeared on the top 100 list of keyword referrals.

Only two movies made the Top Movers list, but neither were Oscar nominees. The GI Joe Movie claimed the top spot, unsurprising as it just opened this weekend. Star Trek Into Darkness was the 7th fastest growing site as the Trekkie cult anxiously anticipates the new movie in May. I expect the traffic to continue to increase, especially with its large and loyal fan base.

The second fastest growing site on the list, Foxsearchlight.com, received a lot of attention at the end of January for making a large purchase at the annual Sundance Film Festival. But, the news did not appear to be the main traffic driver. In February, 37% of Fox Searchlight’s incoming traffic came from YouTube–not the usual Facebook or Google. The company aggressively promoted their upcoming movie Stoker on their YouTube channel. YouTube was also the top outgoing destination for 32% of the visitors. It makes sense, YouTube is the best channel to market a movie. But, Fox Searchlight should start sharing its videos on other sites to drive more traffic–especially on Facebook. The social networking site was only the fifth highest incoming site. Fox Searchlight is doing a lot of things right, but has the potential to make the Top Movers list again next month.

About Carro Halpin:Carro is excited to join the Compete team as the Digital Marketing Co-op for Compete.com, with a focus on all things social media. A third-year student at Northeastern University, Carro is pursuing a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Political Science. She has a passion for digital media. Follow her on Twitter @carrohalpin or connect on Google+